Chelsea Recently: Flight Recovery & Madrid Fashion Week

Hello world! I'd like to take a moment and give me credit for the fact that I have written not one, not two, but THREE blogs now in the time I've been back in Madrid! YEAR OF THE CHELSEA is back on track!!

Not much has been happening since I've been back (now that I am peacefully in Madrid and almost fully recovered from my traveling trauma...I say almost because I still have nightmares where I think I am trapped in an airplane and wake up screaming for my mom...not like bloody-murder scream but like annoying teenager scream..."Mom?....Mooom...? MOM? MOOOOM!!!" I don't mind it so much because I'm used to sleepwalking/sleep screaming but since the weather is warm my window is open at night and I doubt the old people & Paco appreciate the disturbances.)

I started one of my private classes and it went as well as I could have hoped. I brought the kids new markers and crayons from home so we had new supplies to work with and I also made sure to bring candy to bribe with in case they became unruly (which they always do...there's a fine line between laughing and joking to all of a sudden making jokes about weiners & bathroom functions. It's like pre-school Tourette's.)

September is a nice month because I start work next Monday but we have half days until October and I also only have one private class until then as well. It allows me to ease into going back to school and getting used to being a work horse for the next 10 months.

Speaking of school...I'm less than ecstatic to go back. I think I've come to terms with the fact that this year is a transitional year. I stayed because it was the best option for me socially but I don't love my job anymore. It's not because of the teachers, but the administration and the younger students. For some reason the kids that are coming in from preschool are demonic beasts that are impossible to tame and have very little respect for anybody or anything. Playing with cute little toddlers is one thing but teaching them is a different ball game and my patience is quickly slipping. I don't regret staying by any means (because I'm having a ball with my free time) but I'm going to do some relaxing and cleansing this weekend to prepare for the school year. I'm good at my job when I work hard at it. I need to continue doing my job to pay for my social life & I need to figure out how to be happy doing it so that it's easier. This weekend I'm going to do some soul searching.

But in the meantime...my extracurriculars have been incredible. Besides hanging out with friends and catching up this week is Madrid Fashion Week. Each year Vogue hosts VFNO: Vogue's Fashion Night Out where all of the high-end designer stores open to a selection of the public to come in and browse their stores (aka window shop unless you're Scrooge McDuck, which I'm not) all while being given the VIP treatment. Considering the profile of the stores we visited (Prada, Michael Kors, Loewe, Custo Barcelona, Bulgari, Juicy Couture) I would consider VIP treatment to be allowing me in the shop without following me around to make sure I don't steal or damage the merchandise or not judging me for daring to enter while wearing lesbian sandals. However this was like celebrity status VIP. Real VIP. We waltzed right in to peruse the 500€ purses all while getting our asses kissed by the tuxedoed employees that served us champagne from glass flutes. Not plastic detachable New Years Eve safe-for-the-general-public "flutes". Glass champagne flutes. I was so impressed! At Michael Kors one of the attendants even offered to take one of the big bags out of the case for me to take a better look at. I almost choked on my champagne out of horror...don't let my grubby paws anywhere near a thousand dollar purse. If it started locked up it should stay there. Other stores served other drinks like daiquiris or blueberry lemonade and another place had mini-cupcakes that were so delicious. Some stores had a complete gin & tonic bar or a mojito bar. Basically I'm more determined than ever to find my big girl job so I can start getting paid enough to make that my everyday reality. Oh and in case you were wondering, don't worry. I didn't buy anything and I didn't wear my lesbian sandals for the event :)

Here are some pictures of the things I've been up to on my amazing week off of work!